Goosefeather's Curse/Chapter 8
Chapter description :More and more kits are born in ThunderClan, with Harepounce giving birth to a pair of she-cats named Specklekit and Whitekit. Rainfur gave birth to Dapplekit, Tawnykit and Thrushkit. Cloudberry insists on dealing with the births on her own, as she didn't want him to see the kits' future unrolled. :Larksong's kits, Sunkit and Featherkit grow into strong little cats, causing constant trouble as Larksong sent them out of the nursery to give the other queens some peace. :Goosefeather asks Cloudberry if she seen Sunkit jump just then. They are choosing a soft piece of prey for Nettlebreeze, who is complaining of toothache. Goosefeather says that Sunkit is already more powerful than Featherkit. Cloudberry warns him to not let the kits hear him say that. Goosefeather is irritated and says he was just making an observation. The older medicine cat shakes her head and says he sees Sunkit's future every time he looks at him, and warns him to not let that blind him to what is happening now. Goosefeather insists that he can't take away what he seen, and that Sunkit would grow up to be the leader. Cloudberry flashes back, saying that all of the kits are special, and that medicine cats must treat all cats equally. :As Doestar approaches the fresh kill pile, she asks if everyone has eaten. Cloudberry says not yet and offers Doestar a squirrel. The cream-and-white she-cat refuses, telling her the queens should eat first. She says there are too many hungry mouths to feed in ThunderClan, mentioning the three new litters of kits. Goosefeather looks down at the vole he is eating, thinking that if StarClan continues to send them prey, they might as well not even notice leaf-bare passing through the forest. :Goosefeather wakes up with a start, He notices that the medicine den seems bitterly cold, and there was barely any light. Cloudberry is snoring in her nest, and Goosefeather feels too restless to fall back asleep. He pads out of the den, looking up at the moon, which was barely a claw-scratch in the sky. The ground was stone-hard, and the air was cold. :He ran out to the clearing and stopped in horror. Rooktail and Squirrelwhisker claws at the empty fresh-kill pile. A dead ginger cat lay in the clearing, but the cats seem to pay no attention to it. A few well fed cats sat at the edge of the clearing, watching, but Goosefeather knows they are from StarClan. He can feel their sadness as they witness the ThunderClan cats starving. Goosefeather feels wetness at his stomach fur, and looks down to see snow. :Just then, a cat with bleak eyes lurches close; the speckled medicine cat realizes it's his mother, Daisytoe. He whispers her name, but she doesn't hear him, and asks Rooktail if he went hunting. The black tom growls that there's no prey anywhere, prompting a wail from Squirrelwhisker. Goosefeather protests that he won't let it happen, and suddenly the cats vanish, leaving him alone. He races for Highrock, calling Doestar's name, and he bursts into the dark den. :The ThunderClan leader sits up, fur ruffled, demanding what's wrong, and he cries out that their Clan is starving. Doestar bounds over, and presses her shoulder against the young tom, urging him to calm down, then asks if he's had a vision. Goosefeather nods, telling her of the snowy clearing, the lack of prey, and trails off as he imagines the dead ginger cat again. Pineheart enters the den, asking what's the problem, since he spotted Goosefeather entering the den. :Doestar simply says that it'll be a hard leaf-bare, but the gray tom can feel her heart beating fast. Pineheart looks at the medicine cat, questioning if there's a way to live through it, but a tone to his voice makes Goosefeather want to hiss at him. He manages not to, since the red-brown tom will one day be leader, and he needs to earn his trust. The plump tom admits he doesn't have an idea, but ThunderClan needs to do something about it. :Doestar nods, and sends him to go fetch Cloudberry. Goosefeather obeys, and runs over to the medicine den, waking the old she-cat. She follows him, and listens intently as Doestar explains what Goosefeather had seen. The leader suggests sending cats into Twolegplace for sources of food, but Pineheart disagrees, stating that the Clan won't be that happy. Cloudberry doesn't agree and disagree, instead staring into the distance, and recounts an old memory from her RiverClan days. The white she-cat mentions that one day the river froze over, trapping the fish, but when her Clanmates got one that was frozen, it melted and became fresh-kill. :Goosefeather tips his head to one side, asking if she suggests eating frozen fish. Cloudberry responds that they need to find a way to keep their prey fresh for leaf-bare, and Pineheart points out their territory doesn't have enough water to do that. Doestar flicks her tail, bringing up the fact that they have the soil, so they can bury prey and hope it freezes. Pineheart states that he can split the dawn patrol, and send out the apprentices to hunt instead of battle training. :Doestar warns her deputy not to risk their strength in battle, but the red-brown tom says the greatest risk is starving to death. The leader's gaze is troubled, and she orders Goosefeather not to spread word of his vision, because she doesn't want her Clanmates panicking. He dips his head in agreement, but thinks of how concerned Cloudberry and Doestar are of his visions. He wonders if they care for him, instead of his visions, since the weight he carries is his own task. :Three sunrises later, the camp is transformed, and holes, wide in length and width, dot the earth. Goosefeather weaves between the holes, heading for the gorse tunnel, but as he passes Stormtail, the warrior looks up. He growls if their new tasks involve Goosefeather, and flicks earth off his whiskers. The medicine cat moves aside as Adderfang pads over, dropping a squirrel into Stormtail's hole. Goosefeather reminds the blue-gray tom of their several litters of kits, and the broad-shouldered tom begins scraping soil over the prey. :He makes a remark about the speckled gray tom seeing things, and Goosefeather challenges him if he's curious about his own future, before stalking away. He waits until the hunting patrol returns, and Flashnose pads past, accompanied by Rainfur. The she-cats drop prey into a hole, dug by Rockfall and Heronpaw. The brown apprentice's claw is bleeding, so Goosefeather reminds himself to check all the young cats' paws after. He slides from the camp, and for a while Beetail walks alongside him, keeping the young cat company. :He tucks his nose into his chest fur, heading along the trail to Snakerocks. He recalls a patch or catmint that grows there, and that Cloudberry said she wanted to preserve the leaves before being ruined by the frost. Goosefeather hears a hunting patrol near the Twolegplace border, and one apprentice chases a squirrel, being cheered on by Moonpaw and Rabbitpaw. The medicine cat stays out of their trail, instead padding onto a grassy stretch at the foot of Snakerocks. :He looks up at the clefts and cracks, but then his ears begin to buzz, and the ground dips beneath his feet. Two she-cats are hissing at each other, and Goosefeather recognizes one as the she-cat Mapleshade. The other is unfamiliar, with golden speckled fur and sad amber eyes. She accuses Mapleshade of betraying her brother, before lunging. Instead of getting some hits off, the tortoiseshell she-cat steps aside, and the golden cat crashes into a rock. A snake rises up, and shoots forward, biting the speckled cat. :The golden-furred she-cat leaps away, pleading Mapleshade to help, since she was bitten. She refuses, and Goosefeather stares in horror as the tortoiseshell leaves, walking off into some bracken. The golden she-cat fades away, and the clearing is empty again. He feels a gaze searing his pelt, and spins around to see Mapleshade, staring at him, and asks why he looks like that. Goosefeather demands to know if she really let that golden cat die, and Mapleshade looks surprised as she tells him that she hates every ThunderClan cat. :Goosefeather stammers, protesting that she helped him learn how to fight, after the badger attack, but Mapleshade tells him that he's already doomed. The plump gray tom asks what she means, but the tortoiseshell is beginning to fade away, and he pleads for her to stay. However Mapleshade disappears, leaving Goosefeather alone and shivering. He remembers all his visions, but none of them are about his future. Characters Major *Cloudberry *Doestar }} Minor *Featherkit *Squirrelwhisker *Rooktail *Daisytoe *Pineheart *Stormtail *Adderfang *Mapleshade *Unnamed she-cat }} Mentioned *Specklekit *Whitekit *Rainfur *Dapplekit *Tawnykit *Thrushkit *Larksong *Nettlebreeze *Flashnose *Rockfall *Heronpaw *Beetail *Moonpaw *Rabbitpaw }} Important events *Goosefeather has a vision of ThunderClan starving and warriors dying. Notes and references Category:Goosefeather's Curse Category:Novellas Category:Chapter subpages